Sathya Chey
Rolling Hills Estates, CA USA
"You just have to get out there. You don’t know if you’re going to like it unless you do it. It’s better to just take the risk and experience it."
Career Roadmap
Sathya's work combines: Numbers, Business, and Problem Solving
See more careers and stories that connect to your interests.
Take Roadmap Quiz
Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
If you're interested in a particular career, just go out there and try it. You won't know if you like or dislike it until you actually try it. And if it doesn't work out, you have plenty of time to try something else.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Finance, General
California State University, Fullerton
Graduate Degree
Entrepreneurship and Venture Management
Marshall School of Business, USC
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand—when my family and I came to the U.S., we were very poor, shared one bed, and scavenged for food in dumpsters.
2.
I’ve been working in the family business and working around the house since I was nine years old.
3.
It was always my goal to become a financial advisor because I witnessed firsthand what it was like to have nothing and struggle to pay for food and shelter.
4.
I got my bachelor’s degree in finance from California State University, Fullerton, and through the school’s career center, I got my first job as an assistant at a small investment firm.
5.
Went back to graduate school at CSUF to get my MBA in entrepreneurship and venture management.
6.
After working hard and staying with the small investment firm for 12 years, I moved onto a larger firm, where I work as a partner on the team.
7.
I’m also a single mother and am able to afford to let my daughter do after-school activities and try the things I wasn’t able to do as a child.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Myself:
As a woman and a minority, clients won't respect and trust me as much as my male colleagues.
How I responded:
I sometimes find myself thinking that my clients will have a negative reaction towards my appearance when I walk into a meeting. I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm qualified and good at my job so that I can change the doubtful energy that I'm emitting.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was born in a refugee camp in Thailand after my family survived the Cambodian genocide. I saw what it was like to have everything taken away from you and trying to work your way back up from nothing.
I came to the U.S. from Thailand with my family when I was a child. Growing up, we had nothing. We would share one bed and find our food picking through extra stock that stores would throw out.
After watching my parents work very hard and still struggle to afford things like food and shelter and never feel like they could relax, I decided early on that I wanted to become a financial advisor and never strayed from that path.
As a single mother, I don't get a break when I come home from work. My daughter has to help out a lot with things like dinner. I sometimes feel guilty that she grew up too fast, but I know that I'm showing her that she can be strong and independent.